10 Things You May Not know About Easter
Origins of Easter
1. Many Easter traditions we practice are rooted in Pagan traditions and have been traced back to pre-Christian Germany.
2. The word Easter has been connected to Eastre (or Eostre) who was the Germanic goddess spring and fertility. Interestingly, the word ‘estrogen’ is also derived from her name. Continue Reading →
12 Good Reasons to Celebrate Harmony Day and Cultural Diversity Week
The Spirit of It
1. Harmony Day is a time to celebrate Australia’s diversity and show respect to everyone who calls Australia home. The central message is ‘Everyone Belongs’ which is the perfect match for educators and the Early Year Framework.
2. Culture Diversity week is an opportunity for all Victorians to celebrate our rich cultural, linguistic and religious diversity and promote mutual understanding and respect.
3. These two events are a wonderful opportunity for early childhood educators to practice cultural competency, promote Continue Reading →
History, Family and Greeks in Melbourne
The Evolution of the Greek Language
1. The Greek language is one of the world’s oldest and has a rich literary history.
2. Greek is from the Indo-European language family, which also includes Celtic, Albanian and Armenian.
3. The earliest record of the Greek language goes back to the thirteenth century BCE, which is the oldest record of any Indo-European language.
4. The History of the Greek language begins, as far as surviving texts are concerned, with the Mycenaean civilization which refers to a Bronze Age civilization on mainland Greece. The name Mycenaean refers to the city of Mycenea.
5. The next chapter in the evolution of the Greek language is Classical Greek from the Classical period of Greek civilization, which was known throughout the Roman Empire.
6. While the classical period was an era of bloody war and conflict, it was also an era of unprecedented political and cultural achievement. During this period the Parthenon and Acropolis were built, the Greek tragedies were written, Continue Reading →
Chinese Language
Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese
1. Simplified Chinese is the written text used by the majority in mainland China and in Singapore among people of Chinese origin.
2. This written form was developed after the end of civil war and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The Chinese government developed the Simplified Chinese writing system was to simplify the writing method, make writing easier and to encourage more people to become literate.
3. Traditional Chinese is the written text that is used in Hong Kong and Taiwan today. This is the traditional version that has been written by Chinese people for thousands of years.
4. While people in Mainland China and Singapore began to adopt the Simplified text after 1949, people in Hong Kong and Taiwan continued to use the old traditional text due to the political separation.
Mandarin and Cantonese
5. Cantonese and Mandarin are dialects of the Chinese Language. They share the same base alphabet, but as a spoken language they are distinct and not mutually understandable.
6. Mandarin is the major language of China and has many, many more speakers than Cantonese.
7. Both the Mandarin and Cantonese dialects are tonal languages, where one word has many meanings depending on the pronunciation and intonation. Cantonese has nine tones, whereas Mandarin has just five, making it easier to learn.
8. Both Cantonese and Mandarin share the Chinese alphabet, but even here there is some diversion. While it has nothing to do with the two Continue Reading →
To celebrate Lunar New Year we are slashing the prices on all Chinese (Traditional & Simplified) bilingual childrens books.
Offer ends mid-Feb.
1. Go to Chinese (Traditional) or Chinese (Simplified) to see the range of titles we have.
2. Click on the Title you want, which will take you to the product page for that title.
3. From the ‘choose a language’ drop down menu, select Chinese (Traditional) or Chinese (Simplified) and voila… there it is.
